I’m at war with myself as I look over the top of my car at the guys. What if he isn’t in the next class? What if him being there tonight was a fluke? Is leaving right now the best decision? Maybe we can just talk.
Just talk?
Who am I right now?
I shake my head and make my decision.
Sticking around to chat would weaken that ability, so I climb in my car and drive away, chewing on my lip and singing along to the radio as a distraction when I get the urge to turn back around.
Chapter 3
Jude
I do my best to hide my grin as I watch Quinten stare after Hayden’s car disappearing into the night.
He seems stuck in his head, mooning over a crush for the first time in his life.
“You told Deacon you weren’t going to date any of the women from class,” I remind him to test the waters.
“I’m not.”
“Does Parker know that?”
His huff of a laugh tells me all I need to know. The man hardly even noticed Parker tonight.
“She’s smoking hot, man. I’d completely understand,” I say to push him just a little more.
“I don’t have eyes for Parker.”
“She’s got eyes for you. I don’t think she stopped watching your mouth the entire night.”
“I didn’t notice.” I know he’s telling the truth because his eyes were locked on the girl sitting across from him, not the one beside him.
I shouldn’t be surprised that I watched her watch him all night. I’m man enough to admit that my best friend is good looking. His surly attitude combined with the beard are just bonuses to his hulking size that women seem to fall to their knees over.
“You should’ve danced with her,” I continue, not specifying which woman I’m talking about, needing to know if he was avoiding interacting with Parker in front of Hayden because he secretly wants both of them.
“Hayden doesn’t seem like the dancing type.”
I chuckle, a giddiness rising in my chest and escaping past my lips. “I freaking knew it! You have the hots for Hayden, not Parker.”
His head shakes, but he doesn’t formulate a lie to deny my observation.
“You spent the entire night talking to her,” he says, a bite to his tone that makes me narrow my eyes at him.
“Are you jealous?” I ask. “I wasn’t hitting on Hayden. If I were going to go after either of them, it would be Parker.”
“The woman who talks incessantly?” His head snaps back a little as if he’s surprised with my confession.
I shrug. “She could carry the conversation, but we aren’t talking about Parker. Let’s talk about Hayden. She’s very pretty.”
“She is,” he agrees quickly.
“She’s tiny, though. I don’t know how it would work.” His eyes stay focused across the parking lot. “Are you thinking about it right now?”
“No,” he snaps guiltily.
“You are!” I smile at him, but the happiness I’m feeling has more to do with his focus not being on Parker.
Hayden is very pretty. There’s no denying it, but she’s also a little unsuspecting. Standing beside her best friend, she would be the one to get looked over, and I feel like a complete asshole for even thinking that in my head, but it’s just a fact. Quinten sees something in her that many other men probably wouldn’t.
“I’m not interested in either of them. They’re clients.”
“Do you really think Deacon would give you shit if you started dating Hayden?”
“It’s a moot point. Did you miss it when I just said I’m not interested?”
“Did you forget that I’m your best friend, and I know when you’re full of shit?” I argue. “Deacon is married to Anna. Flynn and Remi are together. Both of those women were clients. Wren’s relationship and his obsession with Whitney started at work. All we do is work. Deacon can’t get mad if that’s the only way we meet women.”
I use the pronoun we, but honestly, I’m not meeting or dating anyone, at work or otherwise.
“Are you trying to justify some make-believe crush you think I have on Hayden or that sparkle in your eyes when you say Parker’s name?”
Does he really think deflecting is going to work on me? “Man, if I thought for even a second I had a shot with Parker, I’d jump on the opportunity to take her out. She’s gorgeous.”
“There’s more to women than just looks.”
“Did you not hear her tonight?”
“I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Because Hayden was in the room. Look, I understand, but Parker isn’t a simpleton. She’s very smart. Her vocabulary is top notch. Her reasoning skills are on point. The woman is smart.” These are easy traits to discover about people when you just sit and watch, and despite Quinten’s insistence that I chatted with Hayden all night, I just spoke to her after she spoke to me. She asked questions while trying to ignore Quinten, and I answered them respectfully. Most of the time I had to grind my teeth as I watched Parker flirt with my best friend.